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East Asian Federation
The Federation of East Asian Corporate States, commonly referred to as the East Asian Federation or East Asia, is a corporate democracy in northeastern Asia, comprising 165 prefectures. The country is mostly situated in land on the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese Islands, northeastern Russia, northeastern China, and the islands of Sakhalin and Taiwan. The Pacific Island Territory comprises islands throughout the Pacific Ocean. With more than 468 million residents, East Asia is the third largest country in the world by population. The Greater Tokyo Area, including the Tokyo Metropolis and several surrounding prefectures, is the world's largest metropolitan area, with well over 30 million residents. A major economic power, the East Asian economy is the world's second largest, with a nominal gross domestic product of $9.4 trillion. It is also the world's largest exporter and third-largest importer. The nation was formed by the signing of the East Asian Federation Charter on February 15, 1976. The national capital is at Seogyeong. History Post World War II When the Japanese Empire surrendered via Emperor Showa's acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration on August 15, 1945, the Allied Powers agreed on the condition of not occupying core Imperial Japanese territory if the Empire agreed to commit to political and social reforms to become a modern democracy, based on Western models. The Allies and representatives of the Japanese government, including foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, formally agreed to these terms by signing the instrument of Japanese Surrender on September 2, 1945. Following the signing, the Emperor issued a decree reversing decades of Japanese imperialism gripping Asia and the Pacific Rim. Korea was decolonized and, backed by the Far East Commission, formed a provisional government led by an interim coalition of the conservative Korean Nationalists and the socialist-leaning Korean Workers Party. Manchuria and Taiwan were retro-ceded to the Republic of China. As a part of reparations, the postwar Japanese government aided in reconstruction efforts on the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan, overseen by the Allied Council for Japan. On November 14, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 112, on the independence of Korea. It created the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea, which would advise the transitional government of Korea, supervise the drafting of a national constitution, and oversee free and fair elections to create a formal civilian government. The first national elections in Korea took place on May 10, 1948, electing Syngman Rhee as the first President of the Republic of Korea. The Republic would spend just over a year writing and ratifying a national constitution acceptable to all involved parties. At the turn of the new year, in 1950, Japan and Korea signed the Treaty of Seoul, formally transferring sovereign control of Korea away from Japan, the Far East Commission, and the Korean Provisional Government to the Republic of Korea. The United States would steadily increase redevelopment and reconstruction aid in the 1950s. Combined with Japanese reconstruction efforts, to be accelerated in September 1953 by the Transparent Reconstruction Assistance Program, Korea's modernization was proceeding at a rapid pace. In recognition of American assistance, President Dwight Eisenhower was named honorary Hero of the Korean People in 1953, gaining the admiration of Koreans throughout the country. This would further spark an "Americana" craze on the Peninsula, driving the sales of American cultural goods and products, creating strong recognition of American brands, such as Coca-Cola. Many Korean companies, such as Samsung and Luk-Hui Chemical would attempt to emulate the success of American companies at home, by engaging in strong marketing campaigns aimed at attracting the attention of Koreans and foreigners alike. Parallel to modernization efforts in Korea, Japan's prominence was rising on the world stage. In May of 1959, Tokyo was selected to host the 1964 Summer Olympics. Initially selected to host the 1940 Olympics, Tokyo's status as host was revoked as a result of invading China, and the Olympics were eventually cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II. Japan's second chance at hosting the Olympics marked a tremendous turnaround in global opinion of the state of Japan, going from enemy of the west to peaceful ally in less than two decades. The 1964 Olympics also marked the heights of an age of technological progress in Japan, with the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen, the world's first high-speed rail line, the completion of an underseas communication cable under the Pacific, and the first international telecast of an Olympiad all occurring during the preparations for the events. Relations between the former enemies continued to improve as joint development and reconstruction projects advanced. In 1966, a diplomatic task force recommended the creation of a supranational organization consisting of regional states to foster further good will and synergy to further advance Asia in the newfound era of peace and stability. Although the People's Republic of China and Republic of China were invited, the two countries withdrew shortly afterwards due to strained relations with each other. On August 1, 1969 the East Asian Unity Zone was formed between the Republic of Korea and the State of Japan to create a customs union and supranational organizations for cooperation. One of the results was a single currency used for trade inside of the zone. The new currency, called the new yen further integrated the two countries' economies, increasing cooperation on all levels of government. An important force behind the creation of the Unity Zone were conglomerates, who had gained much from the gradual integrating of the economies. Profits were at record highs due to the opening of a larger target-able market for companies on both sides. With the increased profits, corporations would spend more money on marketing lobbying the government to take favorable positions on international issues related to unification, all the while maintaining a positive image in the public view. As corporations enjoyed unparalleled influence in the two nations' legislatures, in 1976, the two nations agreed to unify their governments and form the East Asian Federation, an experiment in democracy in which Corporations handle the governing and upkeep of the state. Since the formation of the Federation, the national economy has continued to grow relatively undaunted. Since 2000 2010 Towards the end of February 2010, Independent Taiwan joined the East Asian Federation. Domestic protests have been on the rise in 2010, due to what is seen as the apparent supermilitarization of the Federation by its conservative-leaning government. 2011 A 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Sendai in the Tohoku subregion of the Japanese Islands, triggering a devastating tsunami. Over 12,000 people are either dead or missing. Significant damage was caused to a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, causing dangerous environmental hazards. Aid was sent from many nations around the world. This event also led to the speeding of the decommissioning/conversion process of existing nuclear fission power plants to use newly designed fusion reactors, which tests have shown to be safer and more reliable than conventional fission. Geography The East Asian Federation is an extremely elongated state on the Pacific Ring of Fire, stretching from just south of Anadyr, Russia, to Hengchun, Taiwan, a distance of more than 4000 kilometers. Much of the nation is seated on volcanic island, which give it frequent low-intensity earthquakes and extremely high population density, usually along coastal areas. There are few deadly quakes each year, the most recent being the 2011 Sendai earthquake. Climate The Federation's climate varies widely from north to south. Snow is common in areas far north, such as Hokkaido, Kamchatka, and Karafuto. Environment While the federal government's official energy policies trend towards environmental protection and energy efficiency, in reality, East Asia is one of the world's heaviest polluters. High manufacturing output, especially in the Northeast China region results in massive carbon dioxide omissions, frequently the target of United Nations investigations and oversight. The government has recently debated carbon cap and trade programs to stem the rising tide of emissions from industrial output. Mitsubishi Electric, one of the world's largest producers of photovoltaic cells, operates several solar farms throughout the Federation. Non-fossil fuel power generation plants are responsible for 35% of the nation's electricity supply, with a target to reach 50% output by 2030. Many major cities in the Federation have urban anti-congestion surcharge zones, which charge drivers entering city a fee based on air quality to enter the center of the cities. Government The East Asian Federation is a single-member district corporate democracy. William Yang is the current Chief Executive, a role he serves concurrently with Chief Executive of Hon Hai Precision Industries. In addition to the Chief Executive, the Executive branch of the Federation includes the Chief Legislative Officer, who serves as president of the Federation Board, the Chief Operations Officer, who oversees the executive bureaucracy and staff, and the State Officers, who each run a different part of the Executive branch, from Defense to Trade. The Federation's legislature is the Federation Board, which consists of 165 seats, one per each prefecture of the Federation, the Kamchatka Territory, and the Pacific Island Territory. Voters in a prefecture vote for a single representative to the Federation Board, chosen by a corporation. The corporation who wins general legislative elections in that district provides public services to the citizens of that district. The new system is designed to increase competition between the corporations to improve the quality of services provided. There are currently seven corporations with seats on the Federation Board. The Judicial system of the East Asian Federation is more traditional in the fact that it is not directly controlled by the current corporation in plurality. Judges are appointed by the current Chief Executive, and are entitled to their position for life or until retirement. Administrative Divisions The East Asian Federation has a total of 165 prefectures and two prefecture-level territories, divided into five regions, China, Northern Korea, Southern Korea, Japanese Islands, and Taiwan. Demographics The East Asian Federation's population is 468,897,846. Largest Cities Economy The East Asian Federation is Asia's second largest economy, due to its extreme levels of economic development and high standard of living. After its formation, the country embarked on a rapid industrialization effort, leading to its establishment as the world's second largest economy in the mid-1980s. The Federation's economy is heavily based on the export of consumer electronics to other developed nations. There are no national income or property taxes in the Federation, typically used to fund public services in other countries. Instead of paying taxes, citizens pay for all essential services a la carte, or can choose to prepay by setting aside a portion of their corporate paycheck. Through this system, citizens only pay for public services they use. Corporations set prices for the services they provide, based on market demand. Levies on certain goods and services are also used to fund government programs. The Federation's currency is the East Asian New Yen. Theoretically, the currency is backed by the State Treasury's precious metals stores, but in reality, as an electronic currency, little of the yen's value is based on actual goods. Domestic Market Tertiary and Quaternary sector economic activities, such as information technology and services, dominate the East Asian Federation's economy, making up a total of 64 percent of the nation's GDP. Exports Exports are a large factor of the Federation's economic success in recent times. Automobile and Consumer Electronics manufacturing are the pillars of Secondary sector economic activities, and have been since the nation's founding. Total annual exports amount to around 980 billion yen. In the past decade, Defense technology have slowly risen to the third most common export, with Federation-made aircraft and missiles popular in many developing countries. Imports Compared to Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary sector economic activities, Primary sector activities such as farming and livestock herding contribute an extremely small part of the Federation's economy. Due to the mountainous terrains of the Japanese Islands and Taiwan, those regions are not suitable to agricultural development. And due to the rapid urbanization of the Korean Peninsula, much land is unavailable for agriculture. As a result, corporations have embraced Yarphese vertical agriculture as a means of bridging the nation's relatively large food gap. Since the addition of northeastern China to the Federation, much more land has been made available for agricultural development, lessening the reliance on outside nations for food. Vertical agriculture is currently being implemented across northeastern China, and is expected to generate a food surplus by 2018. Science and Technology The East Asian Federation is a global leader in various fields of technology, mainly in the fields of communications and aviation. Scientific development, as with economic growth, is driven by competition between the major corporations in the Federation wishing to be the market leader. Since the viability of fusion power was proven in the early 2000s, the adoption of fusion power in the nation has been widespread, with uses from civilian power generation to powering military craft. Military and Foreign Relations The East Asian Federation's military is limited by the National Constitution, which severely limits the use of military force in settling international disputes. The Federation's military is controlled by the State Defense Office, and primarily consists of the Federation Air Forces (FAF), the Naval Self-Defense Force (FNSDF) and the Federation Land Self-Defense Force (FLSDF). All but the Air Forces are generally restricted to defense operations inside of national borders, but small amounts of Self-Defense Force personnel have been deployed to international peacekeeping missions, and the 2003 War in Iraq. The Federation is one of the two member states of the Asian Free Trade Agreement. Hwang Sung-Ra, a citizen of the Federation, is Secretary-General of the Free Trade Zone. The Federation is also a member of the Organization of Independent States, the Amerozone and the Eurozone. Use of the Euro was suspended on February 1, 2012, following suspicions of a deepening debt contagion sweeping across Europe. Gallery Japanese Democratic Republic.png EAF.png East Asia Flag.png EastAsia3.png EastAsia01.png Flag_of_the_East_Asian_Federation.png Flag of the east asian people's federation.jpg Flag of The Federation of East-Asian Republics.png Category:East Asia Federation Category:Nations Category:Continental unions Category:Foreign relations of Japan Category:Foreign relations of Korea Category:Foreign relations of China Category:Foreign relations of Vietnam Category:Foreign relations of Thailand Category:Proposed international organizations Category:Regionalism (international relations)